Covid-19

Trump Quits the World Health Organization. The Victim Is the United States.

May 29, 2020

Two weeks after President Trump fired off a characteristically intemperate letter to the director-general of the World Health Organization, accusing him of incompetence in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis, the reputation of the agency has been damaged far less than the image of the United States. That is, to judge by the reaction of global …

Covid-19, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Global Emergency Funds Must Not Be Pocketed for Corruption

May 28, 2020

by Frank Vogl

Fears abound as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the poorer nations of the world, not only about appalling levels of death and economic depression but also about criminal opportunism. Never before have agencies in the United Nations system, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other official lenders and aid agencies moved on …

Covid-19

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COVID-19

Pulling Peacekeepers From Darfur Will Be a Murderous Mistake

May 27, 2020

by Niemat Ahmadi

The world plans to withdraw peacekeepers from Darfur by the end of this year. Without an alternative in place, this premature departure is a disaster in the making for the millions of Darfuris it will leave behind. While the West weighs the best ways to protect civilians going forward, I and millions of Darfuris …

Africa, Covid-19, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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COVID-19

Never Underestimate the Grit of Malawians to Survive the Coronavirus

May 25, 2020

by Antonio Menendez de Zubillaga

LILONGWE, Malawi — Ever since an expatriate tourism adviser labeled Malawi the “warm heart of Africa” in the 1970s, Malawians have worn the title proudly, sparing no effort to welcome visitors with open arms. My family and I felt immediately at home here in Lilongwe, the capital. We arrived in April 2018, as part …

Africa, Covid-19

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COVID-19

Robbed of Their Island in the Indian Ocean, Chagossians Linger in a Pandemic-Shadowed Limbo

May 21, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

Exactly one year ago, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Britain to return the Chagos Archipelago, a cluster of islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, an island-nation off the southeast coast of Africa. The resolution endorsed an International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion that had been …

Africa, Covid-19, General Assembly, US Foreign Relations

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COVID-19

The US Plans to Prolong the Iran Arms Ban Through the UN, Where It Has Few Friends

May 20, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

The Trump administration may be bound and determined to extend a tight global arms embargo on Iran, but it still can’t send a straight message about how it will do so through the United Nations Security Council. The embargo, embedded in a Council resolution endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, expires in October. While …

Covid-19, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

As the US Slams the WHO, It Is Giving Millions to Another UN Agency to Fight Covid-19

May 19, 2020

by Stephanie Liechtenstein

On April 14, the US Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna issued a press release declaring that the State Department had contributed $11 million to a project fighting Covid-19 by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. The donation was mentioned by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a press briefing on May 6. …

Covid-19, Health and Population, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

The UN’s Top Doc Checks Out to Return to Australia: Our Latest Podcast Episode

May 18, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion and Kacie Candela

Dr. Jillann Farmer managed her share of crises as the United Nations medical director since 2012, including the Ebola outbreak in 2014 in West Africa and the Syrian chemical attacks that occurred soon after that epidemic. In February, Dr. Farmer decided she was ready to move to a new job after more than seven years …

Covid-19, Health and Population

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COVID-19

Will the Coronavirus Leave Joe and Kelly Craft Homeless? Maybe the Fed Can Help

May 15, 2020

by Irwin Arieff

A year ago, Kelly Craft was serving as Washington’s frequently absent ambassador to Canada, soon to be en route to the United Nations. Her spouse, the coal baron Joseph Craft III, was knee-deep in a Trump administration assault on federal rules aimed at safeguarding the environment, slowing climate change and protecting miners and other …

Covid-19, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

Picturing a Post-Pandemic World Where Latin American Women Are Safe

May 14, 2020

by Maurizio Guerrero

Long before Covid-19, Latin American women suffered from a pandemic of violence. Now, amid lockdowns, domestic abuse is rising. As the region battles both the virus and domestic abuse, women’s advocates see a glimmer of hope in innovative protective measures set up by governments and women’s groups that could endure well into the future. …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence

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COVID-19

Living in Chile, in the South of the World, as the Coronavirus Doesn’t Stop

May 13, 2020

by Jaime Sapag Muñoz de la Peña

SANTIAGO, Chile — I live here in the capital, in the south of the world, with the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Andes due east. Chile is a country that is recognized for its wonderful, diverse nature but also for its intense sociopolitical processes. Since October 2019, the country has been facing …

Covid-19, Latin America

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COVID-19

The UN Is Hunting for a New Medical Director, Based in New York City

May 12, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

“Are you a senior medical executive with expertise in healthcare management with oversight of clinical services and occupational health at a facility, state, national or international level? The United Nations Secretariat is seeking a Medical Director at the D-2 level in the Department of Operational Support,” an ad posting on the UN’s job portal …

Covid-19, Secretary-General

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COVID-19

Quarantined and Stalked by Covid-19, UN Field Staff Live With Fear and Anxiety

May 11, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

Far from United Nations headquarters in New York and its offices in other cities around the world, many thousands of UN staff members are adjusting to new, more disturbing and dangerous realities in the era of Covid-19. Daily life is taking a psychological toll in both humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, prompting more focus on …

Africa, Covid-19

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COVID-19

‘Pathetic’: The US Pulls the Plug on a UN Global Cease-Fire Resolution

May 10, 2020

by Dali ten Hove

After six weeks of negotiations, the United States shot down hopes for a resolution to be approved in the United Nations Security Council on May 8, refusing to back worldwide cease-fires as the US continues to castigate China and the World Health Organization for the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, momentum behind tenuous cease-fires is vanishing, …

Covid-19, Security Council, US-UN Relations

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COVID-19

In the Pandemic, Millions of People Could Lose Their Homes

May 8, 2020

by Juliana Nnoko-Mewanu

For households around the world, soon it will be the time of the month to start thinking about next month’s rent, mortgage or housing loan payments. Billions of people have been directly or indirectly affected by Covid-19. This unprecedented public health and economic crisis could easily turn into a devastating housing crisis. Economies are …

Covid-19

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Covid-19

Trump Quits the World Health Organization. The Victim Is the United States.

Global Emergency Funds Must Not Be Pocketed for Corruption

Pulling Peacekeepers From Darfur Will Be a Murderous Mistake

Never Underestimate the Grit of Malawians to Survive the Coronavirus

Robbed of Their Island in the Indian Ocean, Chagossians Linger in a Pandemic-Shadowed Limbo

The US Plans to Prolong the Iran Arms Ban Through the UN, Where It Has Few Friends

As the US Slams the WHO, It Is Giving Millions to Another UN Agency to Fight Covid-19

The UN’s Top Doc Checks Out to Return to Australia: Our Latest Podcast Episode

Will the Coronavirus Leave Joe and Kelly Craft Homeless? Maybe the Fed Can Help

Picturing a Post-Pandemic World Where Latin American Women Are Safe

Living in Chile, in the South of the World, as the Coronavirus Doesn’t Stop

The UN Is Hunting for a New Medical Director, Based in New York City

Quarantined and Stalked by Covid-19, UN Field Staff Live With Fear and Anxiety

‘Pathetic’: The US Pulls the Plug on a UN Global Cease-Fire Resolution

In the Pandemic, Millions of People Could Lose Their Homes

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